There has been so much grieving in the last year, grieving that I could not ameliorate. I want to comfort those at home and abroad in the pain they feel, and these are the words that have come to mind.  I hope that someone, somewhere is comforted by them.

I understand that you are grieving right now, and it hurts like hell.  You may feel a burning pain in your chest.  You may feel like weeping and gnashing your teeth.  You may feel frozen and isolated.  It hurts so much it seems overwhelming.  In your despair, you must remember this most important fact, that YOU ARE LOVED.

That may seem trivial at the moment, but I assure it is not.  Love is indeed the most powerful of forces.  Love can cause an individual to ignore his own survival instincts to protect a spouse or child.  Love can cause someone to work against their own self-interests to preserve and protect the interests of others.  Love can help someone who has grown up in poverty surrounded by crime and despair to graduate from high school, to attend college.  Love can make peace when we want revenge.  Love can hold you through a long and despairing night helping you to just breathe in and out.  Love surrounds even those who can no longer bear to go on.  It is no small thing to say this, that you are loved.  Your love for another, even if unrequited, bears you both up.  The love of community helps us to strengthen the weak and improve all lives.  

But the greatest love is from the Father.  It is completely and totally unconditional, and no action you can take will drive it away.  It bears your doubt, and your anger, and your tears.  Pour out your humanness into this ocean of love, and it will continue to surround you, to hold you, each day.  While the load you bear now is heavy and the pain you endure is great, remember always that …

You Are Loved.